Carbon emissions have been one of the most important environmental issues of the past few decades. Increasing carbon emissions in our atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution and other greenhouse gases have been the main actor of global warming and environmental crises. The main cause of natural events and disasters that are not normally seen in our own geography and different parts of the world are also the changes in the climate due to carbon emissions.
If you also have an environmentally friendly perspective, you must know about carbon emissions. That’s why we’ve put together what you need to know about carbon emissions for you. Read on to find out!
What is Carbon Emission and What Is Its Importance?
Carbon emissions are essentially part of the balance of natural habitat and highly needed. Many biological interactions make carbon, from the exhalation of creatures to their mixing with the land. We can also think of this carbon as a food that plants are using for photosynthesis because photosynthesis is actually the plants taking up carbon dioxide from nature and discharge it back as oxygen. Let’s not forget that most of the carbon in the earth is not above ground but under the land.
However, we are also the ones who take carbon emissions out of being a part of nature’s balance. The use of fossil fuels is basically removing the carbon that should be underground to the surface. Nature has trouble balancing the high number of carbon that we uncover through fossil fuels. When we add that we cut the forests to undertake this function and use them as industrial materials or settlements, a different situation emerges. In doing so, we increase the carbon above ground in unnatural ways and reduce the number of plants that will convert this carbon into oxygen.
So if carbon is a part of nature, what’s bad about being above ground? Carbon, together with other gases (such as nitrous oxide, fluorine gas), creates a greenhouse effect in the atmosphere. As the name suggests; it causes the sun’s rays, which must hit the earth and return to space, to remain in the atmosphere. This unnatural and mostly human-made cycle is the main reason for global warming, melting glaciers, and rising sea levels that we often hear. Although carbon emission is a natural work, it triggers the climate crisis as todays.
What are the Causes of Carbon Emission and Greenhouse Gas?
When we look at the earth’s millions of years of history; we see that carbon emissions and greenhouse gases rise from time to time. However, the real cause of the unnatural carbon emissions and greenhouse gas emissions we are talking about today is human and industrial development practices. The fact that the main raw material in energy is fossil fuels and the gradual reduction of living things that will turn carbon into oxygen in forests and seas are the man himself’s work. Of course, industrial development and creating value is one of the imperatives of our modern lives. Still, it is impossible to do this without increasing carbon emissions and greenhouse gases, even if it is more difficult. In other saying, the Sustainable Development discourse we are hearing all the time from different media is based on these.
Sectors Affecting Carbon Emissions
We can count the main sectors that affect carbon emissions into five categories, as a percentage. These; Electricity and Energy Production, Industrial Production, Agriculture, Livestock and Forestry Affairs, Transportation, and finally Home Consumption. Electricity and Energy Production take the biggest share. Because globally, the main ingredient of energy is fossil fuels, and carbon emissions are at the highest level. Industrial Production uses energy, but also carbon dioxide from factories is mostly released into the atmosphere without a filter. Agriculture, Livestock, and Forestry Affairs also contribute to the greenhouse gas effect through energy and forest reduction. Considering that most transport vehicles use petroleum-based fuels, it is natural to be on the list.
Regardless of your industry, being conscious of carbon emissions ensures that you make a good investment in the future. You also need to take concrete steps to protect nature. The simplest example we will give you here will be solar energy.